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Albanian Catholic Bulletin
The Triumph of Atheist Thought
As the classics of Marxism-Leninism have
emphasized, under the socialist order, society
passes from the reign of necessity into that of
freedom. This also includes the freedom of the
human consciousness, the freedom to organize
society's entire activity in compliance with the
objective laws of development. Comrade Enver
has said that 'the ideal of socialism is not only to
liberate workers socially and economically, but
to liberate them from the spiritual enslavement
of foreign ideologies. Socialism is the only order
which creates all the conditions for the realization of the people's all-round emancipation.
. . . throughout our country's history religions and cults have not only been the loaded
weapon used by social reaction, but also a
weapon of the occupying enemies. Our people
have never confused faith with nation, religion
with the homeland. The slogan of the (19th
century Albanian national liberation movement)
the Renaissance: "The religion of the Albanian
is albanianism'', is a synthesis of this evaluation
in the consciousness of the Albanian people.
Having seen that religion's obedient clergy
were servants of every occupier and every
enemy, and having seen that they changed their
flag according to the foreigner's emblem, experience convinced our people that churches and
mosques were the nest of anti-Albanianism and
of the highest treason against the homeland.
This experience was made even more clearly
evident by the national liberation struggle when,
very openly, the Catholic clergy and that of other
faiths, welcomed Fascism and Nazism and followed them in all their activities in opposition to
the people's aspirations and patriotic spirit. The
people could not forgive even the clergy who
held themselves to be 'holy' for this betrayal.
The great socio-economic transformations in
these four decades of socialism have also been a
convincing experience that everything in society
is created solely through the people's toil, without any 'heavenly' aid, but by relying totally on
our own strength. The implementation of the
principle of relying upon our internal strength
and the achievements of socialism in compliance
with that principle have shown that nothing falls
from the sky. (If we exclude the rain!)
The socialist ideology, as our country's ruling
ideology, has created the subjective conditions
under which the people's minds can be enlightened by scientific truth. Due to its proletarian class nature, socialist ideology cannot
coexist with the opium of religion, with deception and demagogy.
Other people's bitter experience has also convinced our people that religion is inextricably
tied to reaction of all hues. The re-establishment
of capitalism in the Soviet Union also brought
about the revitalization and flourishing of religion, because it is the best instrument with which
to pacify the workers' consciousness. Today the
Soviet revisionists praise themselves because
they have "created the possibility for the Tad-
zhikistan women to go to the mosque". The
U.S. Congress has included in the text of its oath
these words: "This people under God. ..."
The propaganda of the Vatican and U.S. diplomats who say that "Albania has persecuted
religious leaders", and that "there is terrorism
against believers", is part of their hostile activity
against socialist Albania, the people, and the
revolution. Socialism does not act against the
clergy and the believers with persecution and
reprisals, as Bismark did against the Catholic
Church in Germany under the pretext of the
so-called "Kulturkampf". Our Party's struggle
against religious faith has always been a struggle
to raise human dignity. It argues and opposes
every kind of faith, but respects its bearers who
have become believers under particular historical conditions and who, thus, cannot be im
mediately liberated from this.
Liberating our people's consciousness from
unfounded religious belief has been a gradual
process of conviction. The separation of the state
and schools from the Church, the daily education
of society's members with socialist ideals, the
unmasking of the clergy's hostile activity, and
the revolutionary movement against religion and
backward customs have been some of the steps
through which this struggle has passed.
Throughout this movement we have always respected Comrade Enver's saying:
to believe or not to believe is each
person's right. It is a matter of cosnci-
ence and not a matter of institutions, or
the desires of the mullahs, despots or
the Pope of Rome.
In our country, religion was not fought with
laws and state decrees, or with constrictions and
force. This was also expressed by a mother of the
Greek minority when she answered a foreign
journalist who asked her ' 'Where is your church
and your priest?"
She answered that' 'neither the church nor the
priest saved me from the landlords. When they
ruled, they neither gave me bread to eat, nor
water to drink, nor electricity, nor did they
educate my sons and daughters.... That is why
I love the Party and not the priest. ..."
Whole generations are being raised in Albania
without any religious feelings. They look at the
preserved religious buildings and see in them
only their artistic beauty. Our society continues
even today to cleanse the consciousness from he
remnants of religion and faith which cannot be
rooted out in one day or several years, but with a
continual revolutionary struggle.
Translated from the Albanian, Zeri i Popullit
October 26, 1983
34

Albanian Catholic Bulletin
The Triumph of Atheist Thought
As the classics of Marxism-Leninism have
emphasized, under the socialist order, society
passes from the reign of necessity into that of
freedom. This also includes the freedom of the
human consciousness, the freedom to organize
society's entire activity in compliance with the
objective laws of development. Comrade Enver
has said that 'the ideal of socialism is not only to
liberate workers socially and economically, but
to liberate them from the spiritual enslavement
of foreign ideologies. Socialism is the only order
which creates all the conditions for the realization of the people's all-round emancipation.
. . . throughout our country's history religions and cults have not only been the loaded
weapon used by social reaction, but also a
weapon of the occupying enemies. Our people
have never confused faith with nation, religion
with the homeland. The slogan of the (19th
century Albanian national liberation movement)
the Renaissance: "The religion of the Albanian
is albanianism'', is a synthesis of this evaluation
in the consciousness of the Albanian people.
Having seen that religion's obedient clergy
were servants of every occupier and every
enemy, and having seen that they changed their
flag according to the foreigner's emblem, experience convinced our people that churches and
mosques were the nest of anti-Albanianism and
of the highest treason against the homeland.
This experience was made even more clearly
evident by the national liberation struggle when,
very openly, the Catholic clergy and that of other
faiths, welcomed Fascism and Nazism and followed them in all their activities in opposition to
the people's aspirations and patriotic spirit. The
people could not forgive even the clergy who
held themselves to be 'holy' for this betrayal.
The great socio-economic transformations in
these four decades of socialism have also been a
convincing experience that everything in society
is created solely through the people's toil, without any 'heavenly' aid, but by relying totally on
our own strength. The implementation of the
principle of relying upon our internal strength
and the achievements of socialism in compliance
with that principle have shown that nothing falls
from the sky. (If we exclude the rain!)
The socialist ideology, as our country's ruling
ideology, has created the subjective conditions
under which the people's minds can be enlightened by scientific truth. Due to its proletarian class nature, socialist ideology cannot
coexist with the opium of religion, with deception and demagogy.
Other people's bitter experience has also convinced our people that religion is inextricably
tied to reaction of all hues. The re-establishment
of capitalism in the Soviet Union also brought
about the revitalization and flourishing of religion, because it is the best instrument with which
to pacify the workers' consciousness. Today the
Soviet revisionists praise themselves because
they have "created the possibility for the Tad-
zhikistan women to go to the mosque". The
U.S. Congress has included in the text of its oath
these words: "This people under God. ..."
The propaganda of the Vatican and U.S. diplomats who say that "Albania has persecuted
religious leaders", and that "there is terrorism
against believers", is part of their hostile activity
against socialist Albania, the people, and the
revolution. Socialism does not act against the
clergy and the believers with persecution and
reprisals, as Bismark did against the Catholic
Church in Germany under the pretext of the
so-called "Kulturkampf". Our Party's struggle
against religious faith has always been a struggle
to raise human dignity. It argues and opposes
every kind of faith, but respects its bearers who
have become believers under particular historical conditions and who, thus, cannot be im
mediately liberated from this.
Liberating our people's consciousness from
unfounded religious belief has been a gradual
process of conviction. The separation of the state
and schools from the Church, the daily education
of society's members with socialist ideals, the
unmasking of the clergy's hostile activity, and
the revolutionary movement against religion and
backward customs have been some of the steps
through which this struggle has passed.
Throughout this movement we have always respected Comrade Enver's saying:
to believe or not to believe is each
person's right. It is a matter of cosnci-
ence and not a matter of institutions, or
the desires of the mullahs, despots or
the Pope of Rome.
In our country, religion was not fought with
laws and state decrees, or with constrictions and
force. This was also expressed by a mother of the
Greek minority when she answered a foreign
journalist who asked her ' 'Where is your church
and your priest?"
She answered that' 'neither the church nor the
priest saved me from the landlords. When they
ruled, they neither gave me bread to eat, nor
water to drink, nor electricity, nor did they
educate my sons and daughters.... That is why
I love the Party and not the priest. ..."
Whole generations are being raised in Albania
without any religious feelings. They look at the
preserved religious buildings and see in them
only their artistic beauty. Our society continues
even today to cleanse the consciousness from he
remnants of religion and faith which cannot be
rooted out in one day or several years, but with a
continual revolutionary struggle.
Translated from the Albanian, Zeri i Popullit
October 26, 1983
34